Ps. 17
Hear / a just cause / O Yhwh / attend to / my cry / give ear / to my prayer / from lips / free of deceit.
There are many themes previously explored in this opening petition. We find the idea that Yhwh ‘hears’ those who are righteous and, conversely, he refuses to listen (and ignores) the voice of the wicked; likewise there is the idea of the mouth as giving forth ‘truth’ or ‘freedom from deceit’. As we have had the chance many time to comment on, the mouth one of the most (if not the most) dangerous aspects of man. It is often central to a psalm and therefore man’s speech was almost a litmus test for the person. This also shows that the psalmists were very aware of deceitful mouths. They knew of ‘double-heartedness’ and the words that could ‘trip’ or ‘slander’ a friend. They knew of words that weave subtle arguments in order to work oppression. They knew of words that could tear apart a man’s reputation—which was the man’s communal person and, therefore, an act of murder. And they knew these words could deployed in petitions to Yhwh. There must have, therefore, been anxiety that Yhwh would in fact listen to those men, grant their petition and continue their obfuscations. There must have loomed in the back of their minds, a time when mouths would not utter deceit; when the heart would be ‘single’ and guile would be banished from Yhwh’s people. It would be, in a word, a return to Eden Eden
One thing to notice here is the anxiety of being heard. This is a plea, a sense that one must exert all of one’s self in order for the prayer to be given admittance to Yhwh’s presence. I’m not sure where this stems from: whether it is in the nature of the plea/request, the sense that there are competing claims that the psalmist is attempting to over-come, the fact that Yhwh is ‘fickle’, the fact that his distress is so acute that his plea enters into the same realm of desperation (I think this is probably the likelier).
From you / let my / vindication come / let / your eyes / see / the right.
Another aspect of this psalm that has become familiar to us is the image of Yhwh as presiding judge. Here, the image of Yhwh as the grantor, or dispenser, of justice is again employed. “Vindication” has overtones of ‘declaring innocent’ as well as ‘deliverance’, something we have noted in the past are part and parcel of the same thing: to be declared innocent is to be delivered from your oppressors by way of judgment upon them. Likewise, in a different image, we have Yhwh ‘looking’ upon the case and searching for what ‘is right’. Here, the often used term “let” is used to call Yhwh’s attention to the case, and implore Yhwh to find the just cause, or innocent (or righteous) man. Like David in a previous psalm, this man places himself among the parties being judged and has confidence he will be found on the right side.
If you / try my heart / if you / visit me / by night / if you / test me / you will find / no wickedness / in me; / my mouth / does not / transgress.
This idea of ‘placing himself’ among the people is found here in a more overt manner. Here, the idea of ‘testing emerges’, and the psalmist asks that Yhwh perform three things to show that he has been a faithful covenant partner (and, therefore is deserving of the protection of Yhwh as himself being a faithful covenant partner): 1) try his heart: as we know, it is from the hear that ‘true’ words emerge; it is, likewise, from the ‘heart’ that actions befitting a covenant partner emerge; 2) visit me by night: the nighttime is when the wicked man ‘plots on his bed’; it is, therefore, the time when hiddenness would seem to allow evil to have some sway; for our psalmist, though, he claims that if Yhwh were to visit him during this treacherous time, he would be found without wickedness; to visit at night is, itself, a form of testing because of the temptation to allow wickedness more room to breath; 3) my mouth: although he has already pointed to his heart as pure, he now draws attention to the fact that he does not slander or oppress others through his words; in effect, he not only keeps his words pure, but he also, most likely, watches his mouth to make sure nothing comes out that would show him to be a poor covenant partner.
Structurally:
A: petition to be heard and request for righteousness (1-2)
B: acknowledgment of innocence of words by testing (3)
C: acknowledgment of innocence of deeds and avoidance of evil (4-5)
As for / the deeds / of mankind –
By the word / of your lips,
I have / kept myself
From / robbers’ roads.
My steps / held firmly / in your / tracks,
My footsteps / have not been /shaken!
After declaring his innocence by way of his mouth, our psalmist now moves into his deeds. As in Psalm 1, his deeds are primarily those of avoidance. He has avoided ‘the path’ of the wicked; in Psalm 1, the image of a road upon which the wicked travel was prominent and here the image emerges again. The idea of a path or road or ‘way of life’ is portrayed by way of ‘walking’ and ‘footsteps’—that ‘way of life’ is not one that our psalmist has travelled down. Rather, there is a second road—Yhwh’s ‘path’ that he has ventured down. This one is paved, so to speak, with the “words of Yhwh’s lips”. One is reminded of Deuteronomy here: man living by the word of Yhwh and not be bread alone. Here, the image is subtly changed into the words providing a path or road on which a person travels—and this imagery will be reverted to with great effect later on (it is precisely along this road that the evil lie in wait to attack).
There is something else going on there that deserves attention: this declaration of innocence is set within the context of a request for vindication. This is one covenant partner asserting that he has, in fact, lived up to his end of the bargain. He has guarded his mouth and he has guarded his footsteps. In every manner of life he has kept to Yhwh’s commandments and conditions. Notice how it is words “of your lips” and “your tracks”—in a very intentional way the psalmist is saying, “Because I was faithful to you I am now being persecuted”. He has, in essence, exhibited covenant faithfulness. When he says, therefore, “I have walked in your path” he is also saying “now you come to my aid because those are the terms of the covenant”. This is not merely a loving description of Yhwh’s ‘words’ but a implicit request (or demand) that Yhwh vindicate those who have been faithful to him.
It is crucial that we understand the psalmist’s assertions of innocence not abstractly, as if he was appealing to ‘innocence in general’. He is, rather, appealing to covenant innocence and this also, not abstractly but in order to call Yhwh to attention so as to receive deliverance (which is, again, the mark of the covenant). The objectivity accomplished is one of covenant objectivity, not a purely interior or ‘spiritual’ objectivity.
A1: petition to be heard and request for deliverance (6-7)
I have called / on you,
For you / will answer me / O God!
Incline / your ear / to me
And answer / my utterance!
The psalmist now, after laying the groundwork, begins his prayer anew, except now he speaks with more confidence. Whereas in vs. 1, he words were purely a petition to ‘hear’ now he says Yhwh “will answer me”. This confidence, in light of the previous reflections, makes sense as ‘covenant confidence’: it is a confidence that emerges from his declaration of innocence—because he is innocent he has fulfilled the role of faithful covenant partner and therefore can be assured that his covenant partner, Yhwh, will now come to his rescue.
This is not, though, an unadulterated demand: he still requests that Yhwh ‘incline’his ear; all of he petition has not be lost with his declaration of innocence. And yet, there is this sense of him being confident that he can demand that Yhwh “answer my utterance”.
Reveal / the wonder / of your lovingkindness,
You / who deliver / by your / right hand
Those / seeking refuge / from assaults.
Here we find the heart of the Psalm, the direct center. And here the psalmist reaches back and employs language of the great act of Yhwh’s deliverance: the Exodus. He carefully crafts this central part of the psalm as a direct mimicking of the Israelite’s song of praise after being delivered from the Egyptians, as they stood on the far side of the Reed Sea. Notice the similarities:
Ex. 15.11-13
“wonder”..”in your lovingkindness”…”your right hand”
Ps. 17.7
“reveal the wonder”…”your lovingkindness”…”by your right hand”
Notice too, how even here, at the center of the center stands Yhwh’s covenant faithfulness which has been the linchpin in the entire psalm. In effect, the psalmist has not just reached back to the foundation of Israel Israel
This may also point in another direction as will be fleshed out later: it may be that these are the words of the king of Israel
Further, if this is the case, then we also encounter another interesting observation: the king would have been appealing to his own innocence on behalf of (himself, of course, but primarily) Israel
B1: request for protection (8-9)
Guard me / as the apple of your eye;
Hide me / in the shadow / of your wings
From wicked ones / who have / assaulted me.
A request for protection is not, in and of itself, anything new to our reflections. It is, in fact, in almost every psalm we have encountered, whether in the form of a request for deliverance or a more straight-forward request. Here, though, we have the addition of something new: a direct reference to Deuteronomy 32.10-11 (“In a dessert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft.”)
Here we find a counter-point to the quotation from Exodus even though they are referring to much the same thing. This quote points to an idea familiar not just to Deuteronomy and the histories but to the prophets (some of them): that the original time in the dessert was a type of honey-moon, when Israel
C1: description of impending destruction by rebellious (10-11)
My mortal enemies / encompass me!
They have become / rebellious.
Their mouths / have spoken / with arrogance.
They have / tracked / me down. Now / they have / surrounded me!
They set / their eyes / to pitch me / to the ground.
Finally, we have come to the people are the reason for the psalmist’s petition. And, apparently, the threat is very real. We have seen before claims that the ‘wicked’ or the ‘rebellious’ have surrounded the psalmist; David reports such an impending doom in Psalm 3 (I believe).
I wonder too if the previous reference to Deuteronomy is not supposed to echo on here in the verses. There, the ‘honey-moon’ ended rather abruptly with rebellion. It was the not threat of nations that Moses spoke of but the threat of forgetting and covenant unfaithfulness. It would seem that these may be similar‘ internal’ enemies as seen by “they have become rebellious”. These enemies may not be a surrounding nation but Israelites who are, to the psalmist, in rebellion against Yhwh in much the same way that Israel
One final point in this regard: it speaks of these men ‘tracking’ down the psalmist. This word refers back to vs. 5 (“My steps have held firmly in your tracks, my footsteps have not been shaken!”). The psalmist has been journeying down a road established by Yhwh—the covenantal road. It is one the psalmist has been placed upon and elected to journey down. This road, however, has made him an open target to the wicked. Their ‘rebellion’ has now turned into ‘tracking down’ the psalmist who is on Yhwh’s tracks. The psalmist is therefore telling Yhwh that he has, in a very real sense, exposed him to danger. Yhwh’s covenant has placed him in jeopardy from the wicked who have now, on Yhwh’s path, surrounded the psalmist with ‘mortal’ danger. In a certain way these men are like the snake in the garden, attacking the ‘apple of Yhwh’s’ eye—and he is as exposed and alone as Eve when she was first tempted.
Likewise, these men ‘set their eyes’ to pitch him to the ground. Notice again how the psalmist is employing terms that originally referred to Yhwh and now are used for the wicked: before the psalmist declared himself the apple of “Yhwh’s eye” (or, more literally, the pupil of his eye). He was an object of devotion and beauty to Yhwh. Here, the wicked, ‘set their eyes’ upon him to kill him (“pitch me to the ground”).The same thing that makes the psalmist lovely to Yhwh makes him despicable to the wicked. This is a common idea we encounter throughout the psalms: what should be an object of beauty (the Temple
C2: description of ‘the lion’(12)
His appearance / is like / a lion / longing / to lacerate,
And like / a young lion / lurking / in secret places.
What was corporate has now become individual, “enemies” has become “his appearance”. The image of a singular, powerful threat being designated as a beast of some sort is prevalent in the psalms and will become much more so in apocalyptic literature where the beasts come to represent entire nations. Here, it may be that the ‘leader’ of these rebellious people is envisioned (perhaps a king).
I wonder too whether the reference to him have an ‘appearance’ like a lion is to play off the concluding lines where the psalmist will see Yhwh’s “form”. Here, he sees the ‘form’ of the evildoer as a lion, once he is delivered he will “see” Yhwh’s form. (Again, I can’t help but think of descriptions of Yhwh’s glory as “the appearance of…”;are we to see here a description that is to evoke something much more powerful than the image used?).
Also, we have encountered lions before, specifically in psalms where David has found himself accused of covenant unfaithfulness and his attackers are after him. It could be, then, that the reason we have moved into the singular from the corporate is that this man is rising up, with his comrades, to attack the ‘one’ (the psalmist, the king) and their battle will result in the subsequent attacking of their followers. David, as a shepherd (literally) must have employed this image (metaphorically) to describe his anxiety of being attacked and leaving his sheep (Israel
D: demand that Yhwh ‘arise’ and kill the enemy (13-14a)
Arise / O Yhwh / Confront him / to his face / Make him bow!
We have contemplated the term ‘arise’ numerous times before: in essence, it is a request/demand that Yhwh enact his sovereign power and deliver the psalmist. The fact that geographical term is used, ‘arise’, is similar to ‘arise to your throne.’ It is an ancient battle cry of Israel
Also, here we find an image we have not encountered before: that Yhwh will actually confront the lion “to his face”. Yhwh’s ‘face’ is something often mentioned (Moses spoke to Yhwh ‘face to face’, even though “no one can see Yhwh and live”). The ‘face’ was often though to reside in the Temple
Deliver / my soul / from wickedness / by your sword.
Perhaps we are to see here the lion ‘bowing’ and Yhwh beheading him, or ‘cutting him down’ in much the same way Samuel cut down the king of Agag after finding Saul to have been disobedient.
Kill them / by your hand / O Yhwh!
Kill them / from the world,
Their portion / from among / the living.
The ‘one lion’ has now again become ‘them’. And the request is that Yhwh execute the same ban judgment on them that Israel was called to enact upon the inhabitants of Canaan when entering it under Joshua. The request is total, not only are they to be destroyed “from the world” (reminiscent of requests that their ‘memory be erased’) but their ‘portion’ is to be removed ‘from the living’. This act of judgment will be met by a mirror-image blessing on the ‘treasured ones’ later: there, their posterity and their ‘portion’ will be enhanced and blessed in ‘surplus’.
The image of the ‘hand’ is also important for its military connotations. Often Yhwh’s ‘hand’ is what is described as enactment deliverance and striking down the enemy.
E: chosen ones and psalmist will be sated and see Yhwh’s face and form (14b-15)
But / your treasured ones! – you will fill / their belly,
Sons / will be / sated
And they will / bequeath / their surplus / to their children
Just as the enemies moved from ‘them’ to the ‘the lion’ and back to ‘them’ so too has the psalmist now moved into the corporate reality of Yhwh’s ‘treasured ones’ where before he alone was the ‘apple of Yhwh’s eye’. Now, in his deliverance ‘they’ will be filled, their children will be safe and sated and, most importantly, the peace established will be generational—they will be able to bequeath their blessing/surplus to their children. The total war of face to face combat with ‘the lion’ has led to total peace for Yhwh’s chosen ones.
I / in vindication / shall see / your face;
On awakening / I shall be / satisfied / by your form.
After Yhwh met the lion ‘face to face’, the psalmist is now able to see Yhwh’s face. Everything is being reversed in blessing.
Notice here how ‘vindication’ is not simply the ‘declaration of innocence’—it is the permission to stand in the presence and see Yhwh’s face. It does seem that there is more to ‘seeing Yhwh’s face’ here than a literal visual sight: to see Yhwh’s face is to be seen by Yhwh in blessing. The psalmist is the ‘apply of Yhwh’s eye’—it seems then that the idea of ‘vision’ here is more complex than straightforward. To ‘see’ Yhwh may be to experience his blessing and his peace, and this, in turn, is to be ‘vindicated’ by Yhwh. There is this intimate sense that one most clearly ‘sees’ Yhwh when one knows one is ‘seen’ by Yhwh—notice how this nicely rounds out the original request that Yhwh’s “eyes see the right thing”.
Finally, the last image is not one of ‘sight’ but of ‘satisfaction’. The fact that these two lines parallel each other indicates they are saying the same thing in slightly different ways: to be ‘vindicated’ and ‘see Yhwh’s face’ is also to ‘awake’ and be ‘satisfied by his form’. It may be then that this ‘awakening’ is more metaphoric than literal: this is the experience of ‘emerging from the darkness’ of the enemy into the ‘light’ of deliverance. This ‘dawn’ is now not the ‘rising sun’ but the very face and form of Yhwh. Revelation will pick upon this when it says the heavenly temple receives its light not from the sun by from the lamb. Lastly, this conjoining of ‘face’ and ‘form’ is interesting, largely because of the prohibition that Yhwh’s form ever be portrayed. The blessing experienced is truly profound.
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